: Turkey asked virtually every shipyard in Europe and the US to bid on a batch of eight new frigates, but only two groups (a German consortium and a Turkish company) replied. The problem is that the conditions are impossible for shipyards to meet. These include:

1. The ships must be built in Turkey, as must the bulk of their components.

2. The bidder must provide Turkish companies with the technology to build the components.

3. The bidder must completely finance the deal (including an option of four extra ships) with letters of credit and contracts to buy Turkish products.--Stephen V Cole